Editorial Board Guest Author

Mr. Walton

Greg Walton

Vice President, Hospitality, RTKL

An architect and interior designer with 30 years of experience, Greg Walton is a Vice President of RTKLís hospitality group in Miami, where he directs the firm's cruise ship interior design studio. Mr. Walton has worked on a wide-range of hospitality and entertainment projects throughout the U.S. and abroad, including cruise ships, restaurants, spas, and hotels. Mr. Walton's portfolio includes extensive work with noted clients including Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Yachts of Seabourn, Princess Cruises, Loews Hotels, the Ritz-Carlton and Intercontinental Hotels. Mr. Walton holds a Masterís of Architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masterís of Science in International Business from Johns Hopkins University. He was recently appointed an adjunct professor at Florida International University, where he teaches the school's first course offering focused on cruise ship interiors.

Author's Articles

Guest Service: Empowering People

Excellent customer service is vitally important in all businesses but it is especially important for hotels where customer service is the lifeblood of the business. Outstanding customer service is essential in creating new customers, retaining existing customers, and cultivating referrals for future customers. Employees who meet and exceed guest expectations are critical to a hotel's success, and it begins with the hiring process. It is imperative for HR personnel to screen for and hire people who inherently possess customer-friendly traits - empathy, warmth and conscientiousness - which allow them to serve guests naturally and authentically. Trait-based hiring means considering more than just a candidate's technical skills and background; it means looking for and selecting employees who naturally desire to take care of people, who derive satisfaction and pleasure from fulfilling guests' needs, and who don't consider customer service to be a chore. Without the presence of these specific traits and attributes, it is difficult for an employee to provide genuine hospitality. Once that kind of employee has been hired, it is necessary to empower them. Some forward-thinking hotels empower their employees to proactively fix customer problems without having to wait for management approval. This employee empowerment—the permission to be creative, and even having the authority to spend money on a customer's behalf - is a resourceful way to resolve guest problems quickly and efficiently. When management places their faith in an employee's good judgment, it inspires a sense of trust and provides a sense of higher purpose beyond a simple paycheck. The April issue of the Hotel Business Review will document what some leading hotels are doing to cultivate and manage guest satisfaction in their operations.